Detroit Pistons: Who will be their biggest rival in 2021-22?

Mar 26, 2021; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Detroit Pistons forward Sekou Doumbouya (45) and Brooklyn Nets forward Blake Griffin (2) stand at center court during a technical foul shot in the first half at Little Caesars Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports /

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Pistons Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports /

Detroit Pistons biggest rivals in 2021-22: 2. LA Clippers

The Detroit Pistons and LA Clippers have been deeply connected ever since the two teams made a blockbuster trade in 2017-18, swapping Tobias Harris, Avery Bradley and Boban Marjanovic for Blake Griffin.

Since then it seems like there’s almost a pipeline between the two franchises. Marcus Morris and Reggie Jackson have found their way to the Clippers. Luke Kennard was traded there last offseason in a deal that produced the 19th pick in the 2020 NBA draft, Saddiq Bey.

The Clippers even drafted a former Piston blogger, Jason Preston. These two teams are joined at the hip somehow, even if one of them has three championships and the other has never even been to the Finals.

They aren’t likely to meet in the playoffs anytime soon (or ever, if we’re being honest about matters), and the games that they do play in the regular season are non-conference and thus a bit lower leveraged than the other rivals in this list. However, Reggie Jackson is a player who has every right to feel scorned after his time in Detroit, and Luke Kennard is a player who can easily feel as though the Pistons gave up on him, so there’s some added fuel to the fire whenever the two teams play

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